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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28249257">May Your Days Be Merry and Bright</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovingremus/pseuds/lovingremus'>lovingremus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Muggle, Christmas, Domestic Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:41:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,999</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28249257</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovingremus/pseuds/lovingremus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sirius and Remus are happily married, parents to a young daughter, and as happy as ever.</p><p>Christmas time comes, Sirius finds a photograph, memories arise.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sirius Black/Remus Lupin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>83</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> 27th November 2020 </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Babe.” Remus’s voice barely carried over the Christmas music playing from the radio, setting a festive mood to the grey, rainy evening. “Could you go find the decoration boxes from the attic?”</p>
<p>Sirius raised his head from the laundry he was folding. “What decoration boxes?”</p>
<p>“Christmas decoration boxes?” Remus emerged from the kitchen, leaning his shoulder to the door frame, his posture relaxed. He was wearing a red, plain apron over his sweater, sleeves rolled up. He was holding a large baking bowl against his chest.</p>
<p>Sirius rolled his eyes, continuing to pile the clean clothes into a basket on the living room couch. It was the same thing every year. “It’s still November, Re. It’s not the time for Christmas crap yet.”</p>
<p>Remus put his free hand on his hip. “Says a guy bobbing his head to <em> Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer </em>as we speak.”</p>
<p>“The kid loves it,” Sirius said defensively.</p>
<p>Both men turned to look behind Sirius. There, a curly-haired three-year-old sat at a small children’s table, playing with toy dinosaurs. She was quietly humming wrong lyrics out of key, and much like her father, moving her head to the beat. Sirius’s whole body still filled with warmth every time he lied his eyes on her.</p>
<p>Sirius glanced at Remus, whose face was just as soft as he knew his own to be.</p>
<p>“Anyways,” Sirius said, continuing to fold oversized T-shirts and tiny toddler dresses mechanically. “Can’t you get the boxes yourself? I’m kinda busy with this.”</p>
<p>Remus drummed the bowl with his fingers. “I’m busier.”</p>
<p>Sirius raised an eyebrow. “What are you even doing?”</p>
<p>“Baking sugar cookies,” Remus said. “I have to test out this new recipe I found before Christmas.”</p>
<p>“<em>November</em>, love.”</p>
<p>“<em>Boxes, </em>love.” Remus straightened, turning halfway toward the kitchen again. “Nia, do you want to come and help Dad bake?”</p>
<p>Little Nia looked up from her play. “I wanna go upstairs with Daddy.”</p>
<p>Sirius stuck his tongue out at Remus.</p>
<p>Remus bit his lip, but couldn’t fight back the smile. He reached his hand as an invite. “Bean, you know you can’t, the ladder is too dangerous. Come on, you can decide what colour frosting we’re gonna make. Daddy will join us soon.”</p>
<p>“Can we make two colours of frosting?”</p>
<p>“Sure, if you want.”</p>
<p>Nia dropped the T-Rex figure from her hand and rushed past both of her parents to the kitchen. It was Remus’s turn to stick his tongue out at Sirius.</p>
<p>Sirius sighed. It was just that easy for Remus to get his way. He threw the remaining clothes in the basket carelessly, picking it up under one arm and walking toward the door, only stopping were Remus still stood to plant a quick kiss on his lips.</p>
<p>“You’re hot when you’re bossy,” he muttered. Remus smacked him on the arse.</p>
<p>“Smartass,” he smiled before disappearing back to the kitchen. Sirius could hear him advising Nia to get on a stool to wash her hands. He dropped off the laundry basket to his and Remus’s bedroom on his way to the attic. His little family was now singing out loud to a new song on the radio.</p>
<p>Christmas was Remus’s time of the year to shine. Sirius couldn’t wrap his head around why one day required over a month of celebration, as Remus strongly seemed to think.</p>
<p>Christmas had never been a happy time for Sirius in his childhood, and so he had never really learned to enjoy it. Remus entering his life had changed that completely, and the last few Christmases had been the best in Sirius’s life, no doubt. But too much was too much.</p>
<p>Sirius reached to open the attic hatch above his head and pulled down the ladder, remembering to be careful with the decayed middle step. He knelt on the dirty floor, fumbling the wall in the darkness for a minute to find the light switch.</p>
<p>He hadn’t remembered how full of stuff the attic was. They had moved into the house in April and had just hauled all the things they didn’t have space for there. Dozens of boxes surrounded him, piled on top of each other, all different shape and size. Many of them were filled with Remus’s books and DVDs or Sirius’s old clothes, just waiting to be taken to a donation centre.</p>
<p>It took a while to find the boxes labelled as <em> XMAS </em>(they were all the way against the back wall) and drag them to the front. Sirius wiped sweat from his temple as he crouched over the biggest of the boxes and cut the tapes keeping the box closed with his nail. He opened it to see what’s inside.</p>
<p>The box was full of Christmas ornaments. Bulbs for the tree, some decorations shaped like snowflakes and candy canes. Plastic mistletoes they liked to hang over the doorframes. Candles and beautiful wreaths.</p>
<p>Sirius peeked into another box. It contained a bunch of tangled wires and fairy lights. They would have to test them all to see which ones still worked. Sirius pulled the third box closer, surprised by how light it was compared to the other two. He ripped the tapes and looked inside.</p>
<p>Goosebumps ran through Sirius’s body, and he clasped the box tighter, letting out a small gasp of joy. Hundreds of photographs in several, neat stacks, and a various selection of what through an outsider’s eyes could’ve looked like random, meaningless objects. But to Sirius, they were are irreplaceable. Especially since he’d thought they’d already lost this box and all in it during the move. He looked at the things in the box more closely.</p>
<p>Two identical teddy bears, small enough to sit on Sirius’s palm. Sirius and Remus had coincidentally gotten them for each other on their first Valentine’s Day. A warm scarf Sirius had bought when Remus had gotten a really sore throat on their honeymoon to downhill skiing in Northern Norway.</p>
<p>Precious memories, all the material stuff they had saved from their time together.</p>
<p>Sirius sat back, crossing his legs and taking one of the photograph stacks in his hand. He soon noticed it was still too dark in the room—the light hanging above his head was flickering and dim. He grabbed the first set of lights he could lay his hands on from the previous box and plugged it in the nearest power outlet, delighted to see it worked and lighted up the room with a warm, golden glow.</p>
<p>He turned back to the photos. He and Remus, kissing in the sunset. Remus sleeping on the floor of their first apartment, his head on Sirius’s lap. Sirius stepping into his surprise birthday party.</p>
<p>Sirius stopped leafing through the stack, one photo earning his undivided attention.</p>
<p>It was from the night he’d met Remus, almost ten years ago. James’s Christmas party in university. Remus had been wearing one of the ugliest sweaters Sirius had ever laid his eyes on. And James had insisted on taking a picture of the two of them because he thought they looked so cute together already.</p>
<p>It was definitely one of Sirius’s favourite photos, from one of the best moments of his life. It had been love at first sight—immediate attraction, at least. They had started dating only a couple of weeks after that night, right before Christmas. Sirius traced his finger lovingly over Remus’s smiling, a little flushed face. They looked so young. Young and happy.</p>
<p>But they were still both of those things. A decade older, but still young, and ten times happier.</p>
<p>“Sirius?” Remus’s head appeared from the opening. “Oh, thank God. Are you okay? I called your name so many times, I thought maybe you had knocked your head and passed out or—”</p>
<p>“I’m okay, sweetheart.”</p>
<p>“What’s up? You’ve been here for ages.”</p>
<p>“Come here, look what I found,” Sirius said. “I think we mislabeled some of these boxes when we were moving.”</p>
<p>Remus climbed all the way up and crawled to Sirius, taking the photos Sirius was offering. A smile instantly grew on his lips.</p>
<p>“I thought we lost these,” he said quietly.</p>
<p>“Me too.”</p>
<p>Remus focused on the photos too, leaning his shoulder to Sirius’s as they commented on each of them quietly, sometimes laughing, sometimes just smiling fondly.</p>
<p>“Wanna know a secret?” Sirius said. He pointed at the picture from James’s Christmas party. “I hated that sweater of yours.”</p>
<p>“Excuse me, <em> what?" </em></p>
<p>“Oh, come on.”</p>
<p>“Sirius Lupin,” Remus said loudly. “You told me you liked it! That’s why I bought you a matching one next Christmas.”</p>
<p>“Baby, you must’ve known I was being beyond sarcastic when I said that.”</p>
<p>“It was the first thing you ever said to me,” Remus said, faking a hurt voice, pressing a hand over his heart. “Our whole relationship is based on lies!”</p>
<p>Sirius shook his head, grinning. They stared at the photo for a minute before moving onto digging deeper into the box to find other forgotten treasures.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry for not being over the moon about Christmas like you,” Sirius said suddenly. “It’s not that I don’t like it, I love any day with you and Nia, I just don’t have too many positive experiences.”</p>
<p>“Babe, I know. And that’s alright.” Remus wiped Sirius’s hair from his face and tucked it behind his ear. “Do <em>you </em>wanna know a secret? I didn’t like Christmas as a kid either. I strongly despised it for the longest time.”</p>
<p>Sirius blinked. “You did?”</p>
<p>“House full of annoying relatives telling me how much I have grown, parents stressing everybody out over cleaning and cooking... and then making me attend every activity when I just wanted to be my angsty preteen self and lock myself into my room to read books.”</p>
<p>“Oh, so you were a <em> cool </em>kid.”</p>
<p>“Shut up,” Remus punched Sirius’s arm playfully. “Anyway, I learned to like Christmas as I grew up, but I never really loved it until I met you. I love it because it has always been such a special time for us. We met and started dating. I proposed to you on Christmas Eve. It’s our time of the year, and I want to celebrate <em>that. </em>” Remus smiled, the golden light on his honey curls making him look angelic. “Also, we have a child now, and I want her to experience the happy, stress-free kind of Christmases you and I never got. Where we bake and decorate and don’t leave carrying the boxes until the last minute.”</p>
<p>Sirius couldn’t respond. His throat felt tight by the overwhelming wave of emotions washing over him, leaving him warm, on the edge of tears, and so full of love. He moved closer to Remus and set himself between his legs, chest against chest. Remus’s hands pressed on Sirius’s back as their lips met.</p>
<p>A light giggle carried from somewhere far away and Sirius broke the kiss, jerking his head back.</p>
<p>“Wait, shit. Nia. Did you leave Nia alone downstairs?”</p>
<p>Remus shook his head. “That’s what I tried to call you down for. Marlene and Dorcas came by. They’re looking after her. It’s good for Nia to get to spend some time with her godmothers.”</p>
<p>“And the cookies?”</p>
<p>“Already out of the oven. I think they are decorating them.”</p>
<p>Sirius licked his lips. “So what I’m hearing is we have a moment alone?”</p>
<p>“Well, we still need to move these boxes—”</p>
<p>Sirius groaned with laughter. “We can do that tomorrow,” he said, kissing Remus once, twice. “It’s bloody November, we have time, we’ll do it tomorrow, and decorate all day while eating your cookies unless Marlene and Dorcas decide to steal them all.”</p>
<p>“Mmkay,” Remus sighed, smiling into their next kiss. It was long and sweet, making Sirius’s stomach fill with butterflies as if it had been their first. “Tomorrow.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. the party</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>content warning: brief mentions of alcohol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>4th December 2010</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sirius felt overdressed for his own party.</p><p>Well, not really his party. <em> James’s </em>party, for the people James invited, at James’s parents’ house. But it was Sirius’s home too, and that automatically made him the second host, wanted it or not.</p><p>Everyone else had shown up wearing everyday outfits, jeans and T-shirts. In his grey button-up shirt and formal trousers, Sirius easily stood out from the rest of the crowd, and had no time to go and change. The only thing helping him to blend in a little better was the reindeer antlers headband James had forced on him, already wearing a matching one on his own head.</p><p>“It’s a Christmas party!” He’d urged. “Everybody will be wearing stuff like this!”</p><p>Nobody else did, but Sirius decided to let it be.</p><p>The walls were shaking from the deafening music. Sirius was sure it was loud enough to carry across the street to the neighbours’ houses. He had lingered near the front door for the first half an hour, making sure he’d hear the doorbell if someone came to complain, and greeting every arriving guest while he was at it. He introduced himself to many new people and hugged his old high school friends, some of who he hadn’t seen in a couple of years.</p><p>Still, as he finally entered the party after coming to the conclusion nobody was coming to complain, his eyes landed on an entirely new face.</p><p> </p><p>Sirius furrowed his eyebrows, having no idea at what point the stranger had sneaked in. He kept his eyes on him as he walked to the kitchen to grab something to drink, and soon came back with a cider bottle in his hand.</p><p>The boy’s hair was curly and light, and even across the large room, Sirius could see his face was all soft angles. He had never been so instantly attracted to anyone before. The boy even somehow managed to pull off the hideous Christmas sweater he was wearing.</p><p>The boy was holding his drink against his chest with both hands, his posture a bit tense, but he was eyeing the people in the room curiously, flashing smiles at some people waving into his direction.</p><p>Sirius wasn’t sure if it was one of these things, or something entirely else, but he felt a pull. For some reason, he was intrigued by him.</p><p>James walked toward him, head hanging low as he typed something as fast as he could on his precious, battered flip phone. Sirius wasn’t sure if he should be amused or annoyed by it at this point. Ever since starting to date Lily Evans, James had been constantly either on a call or texting with her. Sirius couldn’t really blame him. The boy was in love, and Sirius had only ever dreamed about finding the one. If he had a partner, he’d surely be talking to him every waking moment, too.</p><p>Right now he needed James’s assistance, though. He grabbed James by his arm and pulled him to the side. “Prongs?”</p><p>“What’s up?” James asked, without raising his head from the phone, glasses sliding down his nose.</p><p>“Who’s that right there?” Sirius glanced at the stranger’s direction from the corner of his eye. James took a discreet look, too. He smiled briefly.</p><p>“He’s Lily’s bestie,” James replied. “I’ve met him a few times before. Lives on the campus. Hangs out at Lily’s dorm a lot. Really great guy. Listen, I’ve got to go, Lily’s arriving in a few and I need to get ready—”</p><p>Sirius nodded absently, still observing the boy from afar. He took a sip of his cider, breathed in deeply and slipped to the crowd. The boy’s eyes locked on him long before he reached him.</p><p>“Hi,” Sirius said, stopping in front of him. He looked the boy up and down and smiled. “What a nice sweater.”</p><p>The boy stared. He raised a hand to his ear, and when he spoke, Sirius couldn’t hear almost anything. He had to guess most of the words by reading his lips. “Sorry, did you say something?”</p><p>“Oh, I just said…” Sirius cleared his throat. There was a speaker right beside them—why had the boy chosen a spot like this? Sirius’s ears were ringing already, and he’d only stood there for ten seconds. “Hello!”</p><p>Even in the flashing lights, Sirius could see how the boy blushed deeply. “Excuse me, can you repeat?”</p><p>Sirius got on his toes, and the boy leaned down to bring his ear closer to Sirius’s mouth. “I LIKE YOUR SWEATER!”</p><p>“OH!” The boy smiled, giving him a thumbs-up to signal he’d heard him this time. “THANK YOU! I LIKE YOUR ANTLERS!”</p><p>Sirius raised his hand unconsciously to touch the headband and smiled as a thank you. He looked around. There wasn’t too much free space elsewhere in the room, and Sirius was sure their conversation would go nowhere staying on their current spot.</p><p>“COME HERE FOR A SEC?” Sirius took a step away, motioning to the boy to follow. He was slightly surprised to see the boy really started walking after him right away.</p><p>He led the boy to the kitchen, which was empty save for an already wasted couple that ran away giggling as they entered. The table and the counters were full of empty bottles and cans and sticky stains. Sirius didn’t want to even imagine what the mess would be like in the morning.</p><p>University students partied hard. And it was unheard of that at this point of the night Sirius wasn’t one of them.</p><p>“Sorry,” Sirius said, scratching the label on his bottle. “This is—probably weird. But I just thought I should maybe introduce myself since it’s also my house you’re in. I’m James’s best friend, and he told me you’re Lily’s?”</p><p>The boy’s face lit up at the words. “Yeah!”</p><p>His voice was <em>adorable</em>, a little high but still had a hint of roughness to it. He’d only said that one word without a raised voice and Sirius was already making plans in his head on how to keep the boy talking the whole night.</p><p>“James’s adoptive brother or something, right? Sirius?”</p><p>The cute boy with a cute voice knew his name. Sirius could only nod.</p><p>“I’ve heard a lot about you.”</p><p>“Good things, I hope.”</p><p>“Lovely things. Odd we haven’t met before. From what I’ve understood, you and James are joined at the hip.” The boy held out his hand. “My name’s Remus. Lupin.”</p><p>“Remus?” Sirius shook his hand, the name sounding distantly familiar. “Wait, of course I know you! You’re the only person who’s ever beaten Lily in Scrabble. She was so furious about it.”</p><p>Remus laughed, and Sirius added the sound to the evergrowing list of the things he liked about this boy. “That’s certainly an achievement. Not a bad thing to be remembered by.”</p><p>“Are you from around here?”</p><p>“Oh, no, I grew up in Wales. Moved here for uni. I go to the same school as Lily.”</p><p>Sirius nodded. James had mentioned him living on the campus. “What do you study?”</p><p>“Majoring in social work. You?”</p><p>“Art. Photography.”</p><p>Their conversation kept flowing naturally, both making each other laugh with silly little remarks every few minutes. But as they had talked through all the basics—hobbies, work, families—they fell into an awkward silence, neither of them sure how to continue. Sirius wasn’t ready to let the boy go, though. He’d love to spend some more time with him if it just was okay with him.</p><p>“Um…” Sirius started. “Do you wanna go back there? Dance a little?”</p><p>“I won’t dance,” Remus said quickly. “But... I don’t mind holding your drink while you do.”</p><p>They entered the crowd, Sirius handing Remus his still nearly full bottle to let out a little energy headbanging to the rock song blasting from the speakers. When he next looked up, he could see Remus laughing.</p><p>Remus was moving his body to the music too, only by taking clumsy little steps from side to side. He really was an awful dancer, but the sight only made Sirius’s heart do little cartwheels. Sirius entertained him by dancing with exaggerated movements, feeling unexplainable pride for the smile it put on Remus’s face. He could do this the whole night, just to keep him looking like that.</p><p>After a moment Remus tapped on Sirius’s shoulder. Sirius turned to him, panting. His headband was long gone on the floor, and his hair had fallen over his eyes, now damp from sweat.</p><p>Remus was shouting something over the music again, but it was still almost impossible to hear. Sirius leaned closer in an attempt to make sense of his words.</p><p>“I have to go.”</p><p>Remus shoved both of the drinks in his hands to Sirius and just like that, started walking toward the hallway, not even turning to look behind him.</p><p>“Oh,” was all Sirius could get out. Remus was already out of sight. He let his shoulders flop, trying to take in the sudden exit. The dancing people around him kept bumping into him, but Sirius didn’t care. The disappointment was crippling.</p><p>It had happened so fast. And now he was alone.</p><p> </p><p>Sirius pushed his way through the crowd back to the kitchen, where he set Remus’s drink on the counter and emptied his own in three long gulps. After a minute of consideration, he took Remus’s bottle and drank what was left of it too. He wouldn’t be needing it anymore anyway, and it would otherwise just go to waste.</p><p>Sirius was miserable. Had Remus really had such a bad time he couldn’t even bother coming up with a proper excuse to leave? Say bye? He’d looked so happy. He’d been excited to talk to Sirius.</p><p>“Aren’t you a ray of sunshine.” Lily entered the kitchen, James right after her. She grinned at Sirius, who grimaced, making her laugh. “Why the long face?”</p><p>Sirius sighed. “Your beloved bestie just abandoned me on the dance floor.”</p><p>“Remus?” Lily raised her brows, sitting down on one of the high bar stools around the kitchen island. “He was dancing? With you?”</p><p>“Well, mostly he watched—but we had chatted and bonded and then he just left without any explanation.”</p><p>“He didn’t say anything about leaving to me,” James said, looking puzzled. “And he wouldn’t leave without saying hi to Lily first.”</p><p>“Oh no, he totally would,” Lily stated from her seat. She was squeezing her beer can between her knees while pulling her long hair on a ponytail. “Don’t take it too personally, alright? I’d honestly be more worried if he <em> did </em> say proper goodbyes.”</p><p>Sirius rolled his empty bottle between his palms. “He’s a bit weird.”</p><p>“He just is like that.”</p><p>“I think I have a crush on him.”</p><p>Lily and James changed long looks, this new piece of information clearly taking them by surprise. “Oh?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Sirius paused. “I wanna ask him out.”</p><p>James hesitated for a moment, leaning to the counter beside Sirius. “Didn’t you meet him like, thirty minutes ago?”</p><p>“Well, yeah, and I spent half of that time gathering the courage to tell him he’s got really pretty eyes.”</p><p>“Do you even know if he’s into dudes?”</p><p>Sirius cocked an eyebrow. “You know him better, do <em> you </em> know?”</p><p>Lily set his hand on James’s shoulder before he got a chance to answer. “That’s none of our business to tell,” she said sharply, but when he turned to Sirius, her eyes twinkled with a smile. “Uh… if you want, I can text him your number, he can contact you if he wants—”</p><p>“There’s no need.”</p><p>Sirius whipped around. Remus was standing in the doorway, observing the three of them with a slight smile. He nodded briefly in Lily’s direction. Lily hopped off the stool and took James’s hand, starting to push him out of the kitchen.</p><p>Remus waited until they were gone and took James’s spot beside Sirius. </p><p>“He is into dudes, by the way,” Remus said in a light tone. He glanced at Sirius and snorted at his bewildered expression. “I heard you talking about me, so naturally I had to eavesdrop for a minute.”</p><p>Sirius’s neck heated. “I thought you had to go. You <em> said </em>you have to go.”</p><p>“Hmm, yeah,” Remus smirked, and Sirius noticed tiny dimples on his cheeks. God, the list of likeable things was getting long. “I had to go. <em> To the bathroom. </em>”</p><p>The silence that fell between them went on a forever.</p><p>“O-oh.” A deep blush crept on Sirius’s cheeks now. “Stupid music, I didn’t hear the half of what you said,” he sputtered.</p><p>But Remus laughed. “Hey, it’s okay.” He looked around the room, graciously giving Sirius a moment to get over his embarrassment. Sirius wasn’t sure if he could, though. Remus definitely hadn’t been supposed to hear a word he’d just said. It was probably all too much to him. Too sudden.</p><p>“Do you wanna go somewhere?”</p><p>Sirius blinked at the words. Remus was motioning around the room with his hands. “I’d love to talk more, but it’s just—people, loud, not an ideal place. A little walk around the block, maybe? Or would you prefer someplace where you can sit opposite me and look into my pretty eyes?”</p><p>“For<em> how long </em>did you listen to us, you creep?”</p><p>“Long enough to find out I’m not the only one with these feelings.” Remus looked around, making sure there was no one else nearby and turned back to Sirius. “I—I know what it might sound like… it hasn’t been even an hour… but from the moment I saw you… just… I’m interested. You’re cool.”</p><p>Sirius’s heart jumped. He gaped at Remus—fuck, his eyes really were beautiful—trying to detect any signs of a lie. “Yeah?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Remus grinned. He pulled a cellphone from his jeans pocket and looked down at it for a minute before handing it to Sirius. “So… if you still are up to giving me your number… I’ll definitely be giving a call.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. the proposal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> 24th December 2013 </em>
</p><p> </p><p>They had talked about it for the longest time. If Remus sat down and really thought about it, the earliest he could remember Sirius hinting toward marriage had been almost two years ago. They had discussed the topic, dreamed and hoped ever since. But the time had never been right.</p><p>Then, just some months ago, the Parliament had passed the law. And it had made all their conversations feel so much more real. Only three months from now, it could be them.</p><p>And Remus was impatient. He was thrilled. He’d gladly marry Sirius on the very day it would finally become legal. So here he was, about to take the first step toward that dream. He swirled the little, black box in his hands.</p><p>Sirius was at work, selflessly filling in for a coworker who had called in sick on the last minute. Remus hadn’t needed to fake his disappointment about not getting to spend Christmas Eve with Sirius, but as an afterthought, it had all worked in his favour. He had no idea how he would’ve been able to prepare for the surprise otherwise.</p><p>Sirius’s shift would end in forty-five minutes, and it would take at least fifteen more for him to get home. This gave Remus more than enough time to get everything ready. He still needed to shower and change, and maybe put on a sappy playlist.</p><p>But otherwise, most was done. Red roses and a bottle of champagne hidden in the kitchen. A row of candles on the windowsill just waiting to be lit to set the mood. He’d do that right before Sirius would arrive.</p><p>He knew Sirius would want it to happen like this. Just the two of them, nothing huge, nothing extraordinary. Sirius had always said that as long as Remus was there, anywhere, he would need nothing more.</p><p>He knew Sirius would say yes. He knew that tonight would become one of their most cherished memories. They’d tell this story to their children one day.</p><p>He had prepared a speech. He had planned to have a nice, casual evening after it was done—call friends and families, drink and eat well. Maybe go celebrate for a bit, if they could find a place that was open.</p><p>Remus pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the laundry basket, carelessly kicking his sweatpants on the floor and was just stepping into the shower when he heard a key turn in the lock. For a moment he thought it must’ve been one of the neighbours. Even small sounds sometimes echoed to their apartment from the hallway. Then, he heard a louder squeak, as the front door to the flat swung open.</p><p>Remus held his breath. No. He was not supposed to be home yet. He <em>couldn’t </em>be home yet.</p><p>He had never pulled on pants faster. He didn’t waste time even trying to get his hands on a shirt before he bolted to the bathroom door and swung it open. Sirius was already hanging his coat on the rack when Remus met his eyes. He quirked an eyebrow at Remus’s rash entry.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” Remus blurted out. His heart was running wild. Sirius was <em>so </em>early. Remus wasn’t even sure where he’d left the ring box—certainly not hidden it anywhere. He couldn’t let Sirius see it. Not like this.</p><p>Sirius knelt to untie his shoelaces. “It’s my home, too,” he said amusedly. Remus used the few seconds when Sirius was looking down and turned to observe the room, trying to see the small box before Sirius did. “I’m so very sorry, should I have knocked?”</p><p>“No, I just…” Remus spotted the box on the armrest of the couch. Dangerously visible, standing out against the light cushions. He took a few steps to the side, blocking Sirius’s view to the direction. “I thought you weren’t coming back for another hour.”</p><p>Sirius shrugged. “They let me go early. Minnie said she can handle the rest of the night.”</p><p>“Ah,” Remus said. He really should’ve thought about this possibility. Have any kind of plan B, at least. “That’s… nice.”</p><p> Sirius stood up straight, letting his gaze wander over Remus’s bare torso. He smirked.</p><p>“<em>This </em>is nice,” he said. “Can we make this a daily thing, you welcoming me home half-naked?”</p><p>Remus laughed. Whatever helped to keep Sirius distracted. “Maybe.”</p><p>Sirius walked closer. He kissed Remus’s cheek, then tried to make his way past him, but Remus moved as he did, blocking his path. He couldn’t let Sirius further in the house. He’d see the box instantly.</p><p>But his attempt to play it cool had been weak. Sirius cocked his eyebrow, still trying to push forward. “What are you up to?”</p><p>Remus acted instinctively before he even knew what he was doing. He took Sirius’s head between his hands and dived in, crashing their lips together with such force it sent them both stumbling. He kissed him deeply, passionately, desperate to keep Sirius’s attention on himself, keep him close and occupied. He grabbed Sirius by his belt and pressed their hips together, making Sirius let out a low grunt.</p><p>He walked Sirius to the couch and climbed on his lap, lips never separating, their kisses still messy and hungry. The ring box was somewhere behind Remus’s back now.</p><p>Maybe nothing was ruined after all. It wasn’t what he’d hoped for—he was still wearing his ketchup stained pants and his hair was probably greasy from running his hands through it all day. But Remus no longer cared. It was Sirius, who he loved, who he trusted. He wouldn’t care about those things.</p><p>He’d gladly do it just like this. He could just whip the box out when he was ready.</p><p>“You know how much I love you?” Remus whispered between the kisses. “You know I love you the most. You know you’re my world.”</p><p>He wrapped his legs around Sirius’s waist, pulling him down with him as he leaned backwards. He stretched out his arm for the box. He could feel his fingertips brushing against it...</p><p>“And you’re mine.” Sirius pushed him, trying to take the control of the kiss. The box slipped through Remus’s fingers. He let out a gasp that covered the thud coming from the box hitting the hardwood floor.</p><p>Sirius opened his eyes a little. “All okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, of course.” Remus cursed in his mind. “I just need to...”</p><p>He didn’t know how to continue. He jumped up, stretching his neck to see all around him. Nothing. It was nowhere to be seen.</p><p>“Re? There’s something under the coffee table.”</p><p>Remus dropped on his knees to look. Sirius was right. He had no idea how the box had rolled so far. It was unclear if Sirius had realised what it was. He ran his fingers through his hair, breathing out heavily. “Okay.”</p><p>Sirius watched, looking lost, as Remus crawled under the table to grab the little box. His heart hammered against his ribs as he closed his fist around the box, preparing for the big moment. He’d have to act instantly, use the element of surprise. He might even be able to make his screw-ups look planned. He tried to get up.</p><p>
  <em> Bang. </em>
</p><p>“Ow!”</p><p>“Careful!”</p><p>Remus’s vision was blurry. He rested his forehead against the floor, bringing his free hand to the back of his head, the pain of the impact almost bringing tears to his eyes. A pair of hands appeared to his shoulders, safely guiding him past the table corner and back up.</p><p>“Let me see,” Sirius said softly, taking Remus’s wrist to pull his hand aside to observe the damage. “Does it hurt? Do you need ice?”</p><p>Remus shook his head. The pain was really fading fast, being replaced by a mixture of emotions, intensifying by the minute. Mostly love. So much love it was almost unbearable, in the best possible way.</p><p>“What is it?” Sirius asked suddenly, stroking his hand over the back of Remus’s head. “In your hand?”</p><p>Remus swallowed. He knew this was it. He counted to three, raising his head, finding Sirius’s eyes as he brought his hands to the space between their chests.</p><p>Sirius pressed his hands over his heart as Remus opened the box, revealing the simple, silvery ring. His eyes flickered all over Remus’s face, and Remus could sense how he was holding himself back from hollering out the answer before Remus even got a chance to ask. Remus couldn’t help but smile.</p><p>“I… um…” Remus took a deep breath, trying to pull himself together. He had the speech. Remus remembered it being long, witty and beautiful. He’d practised it in his head several times a day for weeks.</p><p>But now, Sirius was sitting there, listening and waiting, and Remus was holding out the ring without being able to remember a word. He didn’t know why he couldn’t come up with a single thing to say. He usually could ramble about Sirius for hours at a time at any given moment. Expect now, it seemed. The one time it would’ve been actually needed.</p><p>He felt a lump rising to his throat. He’d been so confident. He’d been sure it would all go smoothly. He hadn’t let himself even consider any other options.</p><p>Sirius looked sympathetic. He scooted closer on the couch and set a hand on Remus’s knee. “Hey,” he said, rubbing Remus’s leg with his thumb, and smiling wider than Remus had ever seen. “Don’t pressure yourself. It’s okay. I know. I think you’ve really got only one thing to say, huh? The one thing that matters.”</p><p>Remus loved him so much. He looked into Sirius’s eyes, realising how adoringly he was gazing back at him. He nodded, sniffing and smiling. They never broke the eye contact, they barely blinked, as Remus slipped on the floor from the couch and got on one knee. He could hardly hear his own words over the sound of his heart pulsing in his ears, but he could feel how his voice cracked under the overwhelming emotions at the very first word.</p><p>“Will you marry me?”</p><p>At this point, he wouldn’t have even gotten too offended by a no. He certainly wouldn’t have been surprised by it. But he <em>was </em>caught off guard as Sirius, out of all the responses, chose to throw his head back and burst out laughing.</p><p>He pulled Remus into a hug and kissed him all over his face. “Yes, yes, yes,” he said, nodding eagerly with every word. “Yes, I will marry you. On one condition though.” Sirius kissed him on the lips. “I get to take your last name.”</p><p>Remus felt dizzy. He must’ve been the luckiest person in the world, and he had no idea what he’d done to deserve that position. He flashed a teary smile at Sirius’s words, taking the ring from the box. It was all real now. “I think we can arrange that.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>(The law that Remus refers to at the beginning is the law on same-sex marriages in England, which was passed in July 2013)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. christmas day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just psa, the coronavirus doesn't exist in this au so they can gather together responsibly &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>25th December 2020</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”</p><p>Remus blinked his eyes open.</p><p>It was still dark in the bedroom, and he could barely make out the outlines of his husband lying down beside him. The only thing he was sure of was his eyes glistening in whatever light came from the streetlamps outside.</p><p>Remus turned to see the digital clock on his nightstand and groaned.</p><p>“It’s six,” he mumbled. “God, I was hoping to sleep until at least six-thirty.”</p><p>“Have you met a child once in your life? It’s a miracle Nia’s let us sleep even this long on a Christmas morning.” Sirius’s hand trailed on Remus’s chest, rubbing the thin fabric of his T-shirt. “I want to give you a present.”</p><p>Remus closed his eyes again, sighing against his pillow. “It can wait, babe. We’ll open the presents when Nia wakes up.”</p><p>Sirius’s hand was sliding lower on his torso. “You can’t wrap this one in a present.”</p><p>Remus grinned, eyes still closed. “You’re <em> always </em> so horny in the morning.”</p><p>“Shhh,” Sirius said, kissing him. “What do you say?”</p><p>“What if Nia walks in on us?”</p><p>“She’s a sleepyhead. She won’t.”</p><p>Sirius started trailing kisses down Remus’s neck. Remus let out a long, content sigh, pressing his palms on Sirius’s back and allowing him to get closer. Neither of them heard the little footsteps approaching from behind the door until it swung open and slam against the wall, making them flinch apart.</p><p>Remus groaned again, letting his arm flop over his eyes. “You were saying?”</p><p>Sirius was hardly abashed. He just opened his arms for the little girl climbing onto the bed and crawling in the space between them.</p><p>“Good morning, honey,” Sirius said, kissing Nia’s forehead. Nia immediately started tugging Sirius by his fingers.</p><p>“Christmas, Daddy, Christmas,” she said. “There are presents! And Father Christmas ate the pie we left for him!”</p><p>“Did he really?” Sirius said, and Remus didn’t have to see him detect the smile in his voice. “How cool is that, Re?”</p><p>“It’s very cool,” Remus said, rubbing his eyes. He propped himself up on his elbow. Nia had turned on the lights, and he could now properly see the faces of his favourite people, both looking at him with oddly similar expressions. Remus smiled at them, reaching to stroke Nia’s hair while Sirius leaned in for another kiss. “Merry Christmas.”</p><p>
  <b>*</b>
</p><p>Remus loved the holiday season atmosphere with his whole heart. They’d spent the past few days strictly relaxing, taking Nia to a Christmas Fair and going to a nearby pond to teach Nia ice skating. Remus’s heart had melted watching Nia holding Sirius’s hands as the practised staying in balance on the blades.</p><p>He often caught himself thinking he was living a dream. He’d always known life with Sirius would be fulfilling, but he’d really had no idea to what extent. Every day seemed to be better than the last.</p><p>They rose from the bed slowly, Nia already jumping up and down, unable to contain her excitement any longer. Remus and Sirius smirked at the way Nia broke into a run as soon as they were on their feet. They walked after her, leaning to each other, watching Nia disappear behind the corner and instantly finding the biggest present by the tree, almost as tall as she was, and started to rip it open.</p><p>The house was an explosion of colour and lights. It had taken the little family several days to put everything in its place. Nia had enjoyed the decorating process immensely, and when it was all done, even Sirius had admitted it looked pretty fun in there.</p><p>“Uh oh, Nia,” Sirius said, sitting cross-legged on the floor and holding one present in his hands. “All the rest of these have Daddies names on them.”</p><p>Nia looked up, looking a bit worried for a second, but then huffed, continuing to work on the wrapping paper. “No, <em> Nia’s </em> presents.”</p><p>Sirius laughed. “You’re right, you’re right.”</p><p>“Don’t bully the child, Sirius,” Remus said. “I’m sure there’s something for you too, you’ve been so nice this year. And bean, remember to check your Christmas stocking!”</p><p>“After this.” Nia struggled with the ribbon around the present, small hands still too clumsy to open the tightly tied bow. “Dad, help me open…”</p><p>“Daddy can help you, I’ll get you scissors,” Remus said, yawning. “And make some coffee. Nia, what do you want for breakfast today? We could make French Toast or pancakes...”</p><p>“Daddy said I can have candy for breakfast.”</p><p>Remus looked at Nia and her innocent face, then at Sirius, who spread his arms.</p><p>“It’s Christmas,” he said defensively. Remus rolled his eyes.</p><p>“You can have more than enough candy later today,” he said. “But you need to eat a real breakfast first or you’re going to feel icky later.”</p><p>“But Daddy promised…”</p><p>“Daddy seems to be making all kinds of silly promises this morning,” Remus said and flashed a smile, to which Sirius responded with a shameless wink. “You can have candy after breakfast, okay? And you…” he spoke into Sirius’s direction. “You have something to say for yourself?”</p><p>“Well, I told her Dad’s gonna eat chocolate all morning, so it’s only fair.”</p><p>“Aww,” Remus tilted his head. “You’re assuming we have any chocolate left in the house. That’s adorable.”</p><p>*</p><p>Both Remus and Sirius’s phones kept buzzing with texts and calls from their closest friends the whole morning. They received a sweet picture from Dorcas and Marlene of their cats in little Santa hats, and sent a picture of Nia opening their present (a colouring book) in response.</p><p>They had a long call with Remus’s parents, as well as with Euphemia and Fleamont Potter, as they were the closest thing Sirius had to a proper mum and dad. They all wanted to talk with their granddaughter more than to them, though, and Remus could hardly blame them. Nia surely was a blessing in everyone’s lives.</p><p>They spent a few hours mostly by watching Nia play with her presents while Christmas movies played in the background, always until the doorbell rang at two o’clock sharp.</p><p>“Ho ho ho,” James said grinning, stepping inside as soon as Sirius opened the door. Lily followed soon after, both of them dressed in thick coats and scarves and carrying armfuls of bags and containers. “A little help, please, my arms are dying.”</p><p>“Merry Christmas, Prongs,” Remus said, taking a couple of the containers, filled with food for the dinner table. “Merry Christmas, Lils. Merry Christmas—where’s Harry?”</p><p>“There,” Lily set her bags on the floor to point at their front yard, where Harry was gathering snow in his hands and throwing it in the air, over and over again. “You’ve got twice the amount of snow than we do in the south.”</p><p>Remus smiled. This year, they had decided to let go of the tradition to gather at Potters for Christmas and spend it at Remus and Sirius’s new home instead. Between work and parenting and living in different cities now, the Potters had only been to this house a couple of times before.</p><p>“Where’s Nia?”</p><p>“In her room,” Sirius said, joining them to watch Harry’s pure joy. “She’s too taken by her new toys to come and say hello.”</p><p>“Harry’s been so excited to meet Nia again,” Lily said, her face glowing. “He’s her biggest fan. Wants to FaceTime you guys at least twice a day.”</p><p>“He woke us before five today,” James said, pulling down the zipper of his coat. “I can’t wait until Nia’s a bit older, and you’ll share our pain of not getting any sleep during the holidays. Oh,” he turned serious and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Harry found out Father Christmas isn’t real last night. I told him to not tell Nia, but you know kids…”</p><p>“Poor boy,” Remus grinned, just as Harry had decided he’d gotten enough of the snow and rushed inside and to Sirius, greeting his godfather with a tight hug. “I’ll keep my ears open.”</p><p>*</p><p>“I’ve missed this. It’s been too long.”</p><p>Remus blew his hair from his face, watching James pull the roasted potatoes from the oven. The smell filled the kitchen instantly, making Remus’s stomach growl. They were nearly done with the cooking. Luckily James, with his cooking skills, had prepared a lot of food at home already.</p><p>“Yeah, me too,” Remus said. “You know how Sirius somehow manages to burn water.”</p><p>Cooking together had always been his and James’s thing, ever since Sirius and Remus had started dating and he’d started to hang out around James a lot more. It had quickly developed to be an important part of both of their personal lives, too. James had gotten so into it that right after graduating from university, he had entered another school to become a chef and now had a small, flourishing business.</p><p>The children were roaming all around the apartment, roaring and giggling so hard it echoed from the walls as they ran from room to room. Nia had pulled on her brand new fluffy dinosaur costume. Harry had pouted for a minute about forgetting his matching one home because he would have wanted to be a dinosaur too. They’d eventually come to a creative solution, where Harry carried dino-Nia on his shoulders, this making them a big two-headed dinosaur. Lily and Sirius had a hard time keeping an eye on them.</p><p>“We need a cooking show,” Remus began. “Where you prepare a meal right under Sirius’s very eyes, give him detailed instructions and all, and then it’s his turn try to do it.”</p><p>James snorted. “But we’re missing the funding for the first season. We can’t possibly afford a new oven for every episode after the previous always catches fire.”</p><p>“<em>Hey</em>,” Sirius’s offended voice came from the living room. “That happened <em> once</em>.”</p><p>Remus and James snickered.</p><p>The others joined them in a few minutes to help set the table, and soon they were ready to sit down and start the dinner. The children sat down at the opposite ends of the table, trying to start a food war before anyone even got to properly began eating. Remus burst into uncontrollable laughter at the sight of Sirius’s expression—he was clearly holding himself back from joining the madness before realising he’s supposed to be an example to his young daughter.</p><p>Otherwise, the dinner went peacefully. Harry and Nia were still making faces at each other, their laughter so loud at times Remus had a hard time following the adults’ conversation around him. James and Lily were changing long, meaningful looks more often than usual. Remus raised his brows at them questioningly, but they just smiled, not giving any real insight. If they at any point sneaked somewhere behind locked doors to hook up, Remus swore to God—</p><p>After dinner, they decided to go outside, let the children drain out their energy. They took a stroll around the neighbourhood, quickly finding a hill, perfect for the children to slide down with Nia’s new sled that had been in the large package. The rest of the night would be much easier on them as the children would be happy but tired after all the fun. The evening was full of peaceful board games and watching movies while snacking on a selection of homemade cookies and hot chocolate.</p><p>Nia fell asleep on Sirius’s lap by ten o’clock, and even though Harry had the permission to stay up as long as he wanted on Christmas Day, his energy was beginning to wear out shortly after eleven. James left to read him a bedtime story while Remus, Sirius and Lily stayed in the living room, talking in a low voice in the glow of the lights of the Christmas tree. Remus kept looking over at Sirius, who sat on a pillow, his legs pulled against his chest. Their eyes met, and Sirius smiled. Remus wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen anything as beautiful.</p><p>When James came back after fifteen minutes and sat down beside Lily, throwing an arm over her shoulders, Remus got up on his feet and took a step toward the kitchen. He let his gaze wander over all of their faces.</p><p>“Okay, anybody want some wine? Or maybe something stronger?”</p><p>Lily and James changed looks once again. “I can take a glass of wine,” James said, eyes still on Lily.</p><p>Lily shook her head. “Nothing for me tonight, Re, thanks.” She laughed lightly at his surprised expression. “Believe me, I’d absolutely love it,” she said, pausing for a beat. “But I can’t. I’m not supposed to. Not now and not for a while.”</p><p>Lily’s hands landed on her stomach.</p><p>The silence lasted ten full seconds, until it was broken by Sirius, who yelled, slamming his hand over his mouth. Remus stared Lily with eyes wide open.</p><p>“You are…”</p><p>Lily nodded, smiling brightly. “Two months.” She looked over at James, whose eyes were filled with emotion. “Two babies.”</p><p>“<em>Two babies? </em>”</p><p>Sirius was on his feet, running his hands through his hair, squealing in excitement. Remus stood still, blinking as if it had been the first time he’d heard such a thing could happen.</p><p>“I think we have some alcohol free sparkling cider?” He offered quietly, making Lily and James both laugh and nod approvingly. Remus nodded too, it was all he could do, and left the room before Sirius had a chance to. He didn’t trust him to wander around the house right now, making noise and waking up the kids.</p><p>He made it to the kitchen before he let out the tears. Of pure joy, of love. He felt silly for getting so emotional about a kid—<em>kids</em>—that weren’t even his own.</p><p>But it was his family, and it kept growing. Soon Nia would have two baby cousins, not being the youngest in family gatherings anymore.</p><p>Remus got on his toes to grab four glasses from a high shelf, securely squeezing the sparkling cider as well as the wine bottle under his arm. He stopped at the doorway on his way back.</p><p>The others seemed to be unaware of his eyes on them. Remus figured he should go in and congratulate. Sirius was walking on air, talking fast and hugging Lily and James over and over again. They all looked quite teary, the same warm smile dancing on all of their lips.</p><p>Remus observed a minute longer before gathering himself and joining the silent celebration, embracing both of his friends. Sirius’s hand found his, and they intertwined their fingers, both of them knowing they were thinking about the exact same thing.</p><p>Christmas time truly was magical for them.</p><p>*</p><p>The house got quiet pretty soon after that, each of them being exhausted after the long day. The Potters wished them good night and retreated to the guest room where Remus and Sirius had prepared a bed for them the day before. Harry had insisted on having a sleepover in Nia’s room, and the kids had built themselves a fort out of blankets in the middle of the floor.</p><p>They would all have an early wake up the next morning. They were supposed to pack their bags and head to Wales to Remus’s parents for a few days, then drive back and celebrate the New Year at Potters.</p><p>Remus stayed behind in the kitchen, loading dirty dishes to a dishwasher to save some time in the morning. His phone lied next to the sink, playing a history podcast on a low volume. He often liked to wind down like this, work on something that didn’t require much thinking or heavy physical labour, and just go over the day in his head.</p><p>Two more babies, holy shit. He still couldn’t believe it.</p><p>Familiar arms wrapped around his waist from behind, warm lips meeting his neck simultaneously. Sirius’s hair tickled his skin. “Hey.”</p><p>“Hi,” Remus replied softly. “You can go back to sleep. I’m coming in a minute.”</p><p>Sirius didn’t listen. He released Remus from his hold and started to rinse the plates and glasses before handing them to Remus to put on their place. They worked quietly, only listening to the tingle from the cutlery and the podcast reader’s calm voice telling them about ancient Rome. If they listened closely enough, they could hear James’s snoring from the other side of the house. </p><p>Remus lived for these moments, where he could just be, the love of his life beside him, neither of them needing to say a word to know the other was there, and always would be.</p><p>“I really loved today,” Sirius said when Remus closed the dishwasher, now ready to be put on the first thing in the morning. Remus looked into his eyes, still, after ten years, being absolutely captivated by the silver gaze. “We got the happy Christmas we wanted.”</p><p>Remus smiled. He took Sirius’s hand, guiding it to his own cheek and leaning to the touch. If this could just be forever. This moment, this feeling, when everything was alright.</p><p>“Yeah, we did,” he said, turning his head just enough to kiss Sirius’s hand. Sirius actually blushed at the gesture, and Remus was, once again, happier than ever. “And the one we deserved.”</p>
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